It took some doing, but the Golden State Warriors are headed back to the NBA Finals for a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-88 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, and became the 10th team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and win a postseason series.
Golden State now plays 48 hours later in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, who last played May 27 against the Toronto Raptors.
The question is: could fatigue set in for the Warriors?
Let’s not forget, Golden State played five games against the Rockets and Trail Blazers in the previous rounds, while Cleveland swept the Pistons and Hawks in four games before winning the series against the Raptors in six games.
LeBron James and the Cavaliers have coasted to the Finals. Unlike last year, both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are healthy, and the team is playing well under coach Tyronn Lue.
The Warriors, on the other hand, have had it rough with Stephen Curry missing multiple games with injuries, and the team looked out of sorts in blowout losses to the Thunder. Even Draymond Green, who many consider to be the team’s MVP this season, was just plain bad against Oklahoma City.
How does the team with the best record, the coach of the year and the first unanimous MVP survive by the skin of its teeth? It just doesn’t make sense.
That’s another thing. The Warriors chose to not rest players in pursuit of 73 wins during the regular season, while Lue found time to rest players and keep them fresh for the postseason.
Last year, the Warriors won the championship in six games against Cleveland. But with the Cavaliers playing so well and feeling well-rested, it might be Golden State that faces elimination in six games.
After a grueling seven-game series against the Thunder, the Warriors probably don’t have a lot left in the tank, at least not for Game 1 anyway.
It will be interesting to see how fatigue affects the Warriors over the course of this series.
